Philosophy of Management

by Grant Anderson, Associate Superintendent & Chief Financial Officer

It is my goal to create a positive and effective work environment where all employees in the organization enjoy coming to work. My personal experience interacting with people in a business and finance environment over the past 20 plus years has influenced my management style tremendously. I have seen employees discouraged and become ineffective by a boss who feels empowered by suppressing subordinates and I have seen others encouraged by a boss who acknowledged their well-deserved value. Seeing the effects of both situations, as a leader I have opted to manage with the latter. It is my promise to those within the organization who I have the honor of influencing that every day they will be valued, respected, honored, and encouraged.

Perspective ~ It is easier to manage effectively when a leader views each individual person opening the work door every morning as an important member of someone else’s family. An employee does not lose their home or family identity as a mom, a dad, a husband, a wife, a son, or a daughter by simply walking through the work door. With that in mind, it is my utmost personal goal to have those in the organization return home from work with a feeling of value and not with work scars which I caused. Behind the home door is where a mom needs to be a mom, a dad needs to be a dad; a family needs to be a family. How devastating for a family to have dad or mom walk through the home door with head held low and heart full of burden, a feeling of inferiority, or mentally paralyzed because of avoidable bad management or misplaced values on the part of a leader.

Besides each team member knowing they are valued I believe every person who walks through the work door must believe they own their work. This not only sustains their well-deserved self-worth at work, but also helps manage the organization in the most efficient and effective manner. An employee's productivity increases greatly when they have a sense of ownership in their work. They receive ownership when a leader:

allows each person to make decisions about their job,

relies on each individual for expertise about their area of responsibility,

includes each person in discussions which influence their jobs,

assures confidence when employees are providing consultation to others

supports the employee in their professional growth

acknowledges the quality of their work

I believe servant leadership is the ability to lead with vision while supporting and serving those on my team. I support those around me by building capacity in the individual team member, acknowledging their immense value, and allowing them to have a sense of real ownership in their work. The result is a productive and effective team.